Natasha Lyonne is best known for starring in the hit Netflix shows Russian Doll and Orange is the New Black, the first two American Pie movies, and the cult hit But I’m a Cheerleader, but some film fans may recognize her from The Exorcist parody scene that opened Scary Movie 2. In the sequence, which is unrelated to the rest of the film really, Lyonne plays a parody of the possessed Regan MacNeil who attempts to have her soul saved by two priests, plaited by James Woods and Andy Richter. Speaking in a new interview though Lyonne opened up about which legendary actor was originally cast in the scene Academy Award winner Marlon Brando.
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“I have a VHS copy of the dailies that I got because Marlon Brando’s final role – sadly for him, but luckily for me – is doing this Exorcist opening teaser. I don’t know what he was thinking, really.” Lyonne revealed to Entertainment Weekly. “He just kind of held my boob, because that was in the script, and he was supposed to be like, ‘The power of Christ compels you …’ He just held on (to me) with his earpice and I was in this full monster make-up. I just remember being like, ‘Ah, this is the surrealism that André Breton, Salvador Dali were talking about.’…So, I had Brando with the earpiece and the hand on the boob, and the makeup, and this was all happening at one time, and I was like ‘You know, showbiz is all right.’ In that moment, showbiz was A-okay.”
Lyonne revealed that Brando only filmed for one day on the sequel before dropping out of the project due to health reasons. The actor was replaced by James Woods in the scene, something that Lyonne said was “a little weird,” but she revealed that Andy Richter was present for both actors that played the part, adding: “Andy Richter and I still do bits about it. So, all told, a fine experience.”
A write-up from People from 2001 when the film was released reveals a few more details about Brando’s nixed role. In a lost-to-time interview with The New York Post, star and co-writer Marlon Wayans addresed Brando’s healthy concerns on set, saying: “”We didn’t want to be responsible for killing the Godfather.” He brother Shawn Wayans added, “He had an oxygen mask and we were like, ‘Yo, we gotta let him go. This guy is not healthy.’” Brando’s actual final film role ended up being the 2001 heist movie The Score.
